Car-floor-door-operating mechanism.



PATENTED JULY 10, 1906.

APPLICATION TILED MAB..26,1906.-

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

.11 v F HM H-V ev :P l 11 ll EPPQ- I m w 1 1 1m Ii. 56 '21 I PATENTEDJULY 10, 1906.

' A. CAMPBELL. OAR FLOOR DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED MAB.26,1906.

PATBNTBD JULY 10,1906.

A. CAMPBELL. GAR FLOOR DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED MAB..26.1906.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

marine srarns ATENT FFICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 10, 1906.

Application filed March 26, 1906. Serial No. 308,048.

Tq all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARGYLE CAMPBELL, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented a certain new and useful Improvement in CarFloor-Door-OperatingMechanism," of which the following is a speci fication.

' posite sides of the door, this so that the load ma be discharged uponopposite sides of sai door, in other words, so that a door located onone side of the center girder of the car may be tilted at the will ofthe operator either about its side adjacent to the center of the cartoward the side to discharge load at the side of the track or about itsside adjacent to the side of the car toward the center of the car todischarge load at the center of the track. My invention consists inmechanism capable of accomplishing the fore oing objects which may bevery readily made and installed, which is efiicient in operation, and isnot readily liable to get out of order.

In the specific embodiment of my invention herein illustrated myinvention consists in the use of two crank-shaft mechanisms mounted uponopposite sides of the door, the door having an independent pin-and-slotconnection with each of'said mechanisms, so that? when one mechanism isoperated to swing the door the pin of the other mechanism serves as ahinge or pivot on which the door is tilted and so that when the secondcrank-shaft mechanism is operated to tilt the door the door is hinged orpivoted upon the first operating mechanism.

More in detail my invention consists in the use of two mechanisms, suchas are shown, described, and claimed in United States Letters Patent No.812,7 83,-0n opposite sides of the door, so that either may beo eratedto open the door and give it a ver wi e opening while the door remainshinge upon its pinand-slot connection with the opposite mechanism.

Still more in detail, my invention consists in details of constructionwhich will be herewith a pluralit four. downwardly-inclined directin orplates 15, 16, 17, and 18, arrange on four the specification roceeds.

Referring to t e drawings, Fi re 1 is a inafter more fully described andclaimed 9.8

side view of a ortion of the car aving my invention applied thereto. Fi2 is a sectional end view of one-half of t e car, showing the doormechanism of my invention in position with the door closed and forming apart of the floor of the car. Fig. 3 is a view corresponding to Fig. 2with the door tilted to discharge load at the side of the car. Fig. 4 isthesame view as Fig. 3 with the door tilted to discharge load toward thecenter of the track. Fig. 5 is a partial end view of the car, showingone form of mechanism which may be applied at the ends of the car tooperate the device of my invention. This figure is takenon line 5 5 ofFi 6. Pi 6 is a detail plan view on line 6 of ig. 1. view of an edge ofthe door, showing the connection of the operating mechanism thereto.Fig. 8 is a sectional view on line 8 of Fig. 7. Fig. 9 is a side viewlooking in thedirection of arrow 9, Fig. 7. 7 i

In the drawings I have shown my device as applied to a car of the hoppertype; but this feature is not essential to my invention, as themechanism may be applied to any other type of car with load-carryingfloor-doors. In the particular car herejshown' the loadcarrying hopper10 is supported upon an underfr'ame consisting of a central girder 11,of cross bearers or bolsters 12' extending t erefrom crosswise of thecar. The particular construction of this underframe is no part of myinvention. In the particular car here shown the hopper 10 has boardssides of a load-dischar ing square 0 ening located at one side of tficentral gir er be tween successive cross bearers or bolsters of theunderframe. In the car shown there are several such openings from thehopper 10, located between different sets of cross-bearers and onopposite sides of the central girder;

' but for convenience onl one will bedescribed.

This opening is norma y closed by a horizontal floor-door '20, fittingup against a longitudinal flange border 19 around the opening, saidborder being preferably a part of the (11- recting-plates 15 16 17 18,as shown. This door might be used to close any openin of any car withoutdeparting from the principle of my invention. This flange-borderedopenig. 7 is a plan IIO , adjacent to the'door.

ing and its floor-door is, as'shown, preferably of somewhat less widththan onehalf the car and is located approximately midway of the distancebetween the central girder and the ends of the cross-bearers connectedtherewith In order to strengthen the door, I make it with downturnedflanges'2l. Below the inner edge of the doori. e. the edge toward thelongitudinal center of the car-I mount upon the cross members of the cara longitudinal shaft 22, running preferably the entire length of thecar, as shown, and upon said shaft I mount one or more crank-arms 23,with connectin -rods 24, carrrying pins 25, adapted to sli e backwardand forward in slots 26 upon the underside of the door 20 and adjacentto the inner crank-shaft mechanism being madein substantial accordancewith that shown, scribed, and claimed inm said prior patent No. 812,783.Similarly e'low the outside edge of the door-that is to say, the ed enear the side of the car-I mount upon the cross members of theunderframe another of-the car, as shown, and upon this sha II mount oneor more crank-arms 29, carryin connecting-rods 30, carrying pins 31,adapts to slide backward and forward in a slot or slots 32 in the underside of the outer edge of the door said crank-shaft mechanism, justdescribed, being also substantially identical with that. of my priorpatent, No.-8'12,783. The only'difi'erence between the two mechanismscarried by the shafts 22 and 23 is, as shown, that they are what will befor convenience defined as respectivel .left and right hand mechanisms.11 other words, the shaft 22 is rotated clockwise when seen in Figs. 1.,2, 3, and 4 to open the-door, while the shaft 28 is rotatedcounter-clockwise,

" when viewed in the same figures, to open the In the preferredembodiment of my invention here shown I have, asbest seen in Fig. 1,shown three'lever-arms 24 alongthe central or inner edge of the door,each having one pin 25 so 'orting that edge of the door snl that, asshown, the door has with the re three hin e-su'pgorts on which to tiltwhen it ismoved om t e position of Fig. 2 to that of Fig.3 and backagain and that it has three points of engagement with the crank-shaftmechanism when shaft 22 is operated to move the door from the gOSitiOlIof F1 2 to Fi 4 andback again. inrilarly, as slzown, I have providedthree lever-anus 30, each carryin a pin 31, en ortin the outer edge ofthe cor so that t e door as three hingesupports w is it is being tiltedfrom the position of Fig.2 to the position of Fig. 4 and back a tin, andthe crank-shaft mechanism carrie by the crank shaft 28 has threeengagements with said door to move it from the cated,

edge thereof, said to the positions of Figs.

osition of Fig. 2 to the position of Fig. 3 and 'ack again. In thecrank-shaft mechanism shown in my prior'patent, No. 812,783, I used ablock 23 secured upon the underside of the door carrying the pin-and-slot connection with the op-' eratin mechanism, said block 23"extending beyon struction here shown I give the crank shaft mechanism avery easy motion by providing on the under side of the doors castings40, havinlg'l downwardly-turned flanges 41, between w- 'ch theconnecting-rods 24 or=3O are lorylng rollers 42, adapted to bear andtravel the edgeof the door. In the 0011-.

the outer ends of the pins 25 or 31, carupon the under sides ofhorizontal flanges 43 o castings 40'. As these castings 40 are locatedbelow the doorgas shown, the flange 21- is cut mm in the line 45, asbest shown in Fig. 7, an the floor hasnotches 46 cut init,

. adapted to be occupied by theadjacent eonnecting-rods 25 or 30 whenthe door is tilted 3 and 4, respectively.

The shaft 22 is provided with aratchetwheel 30, normally lockedby' latchdog or end of the car-door in the normal position of Fig. 2, while theopposite shaft 28 is provided with a ratchet-wheel 32 and locking dog53,

. and-gearing mechanisms, as shown, "to the respective shafts which theyare designed to 0p erate. The specific mechanism for operating shaft 28,running preferably the entire len th pawl 31, designed tonormally holdthe inner these shafts is not apart of my invention, an I I have merelyshown one of the common forms, which may be varied at pleasure.

In the particular car here in l have shown parts of shafts 22 an 28 asop eratin two floor-doors,. one followin the other engthwise of thecar;but a set 0 such shafts may be used to operate any number of floor-doorslengthwise of the car which it may seem best tense as a part of the capfloor door. I

It should be undestood that in the fall ,car

- there is usually and preferably on the opposite side oi the centralgirderanother set of floor-doors running len hwise of the canoperated byanother set 0 shafts eorrespondin to those which I have been deseribinwhie second set is, however, independent 0 the set heretofore described.j

In the operation of the device the operating mechanism is moved untilthe parts assume and are locked in the'position of Figs. 1 and 2 inwhich positionthe car is ready for guestion I 'described. When the loaloading. When a load has been placed upon the car in the hopper 10, itrests upon each floor-door. The operator, if he desires to dump the loadat the center of the track, releases the dog 31 and any other lockingmechanism controlling the shaft 30 and, taking hold of wheel 34, rotatesthe shaft 22, with at tached parts, to the position of Fig. 4, and thusdumps the load in the desired position, the door swinging on pins 31 ofthe opposite locking mechanism as a bin e, as' heretofore has beendischarged, the operator rotates wheel 34 in the opposite direction backto normal position of Fig. 2. If, on the other hand, while the car isstill loaded the operator desires to dump the load at the side ofthetrack, he does not disturb the locking mechanism of the shaft 30, butdoes unlock the shaft 28 by moving the dog 33 out of engagement with theratchetwheel 32 and unfastening any other mechanism which may beprovided with the shaft. He now takes hold of wheel 35 and rotates shaft28,with attached parts, to the position of Fig. 3, the hinge for thedoor beingformed by the pins 25 of the opposite operatin mechanismheretofore described. While t e closing of either door is in progress,the lockingdog on its respective operating-shaft clicks over theratchet-wheel thereon in the ordinary manner, and thus prevents anybackward motion of the door contrary to the desire of the operator.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a car in combination with a frame and load-retaining car-body aload-carrying floor-door normally closing a load-discharging opening insaid body, a crank-shaft mechanism adjacent to two opposite sides of thedoor each-having a pin-and-slot connection with a side of the door sothat by operating one of said crank-shaft mechanisms the door may betilted about the pin of the opposite mechanism as a hinge.

2. In a car in combination with a frame and load-retaining car-body aload-carrying iioor-door normally closing a load-discharging opening inthe body a crank-shaft mechanism adjacent to two opposite sides of thedoor each having a pin-and-slot connection with the side of the door towhich it is adjacent the whole so arranged that by operating either ofsaid crank-shaft mechanisms the door may be tilted about the pin of theopposite mechanism as a hinge.

3. In a car in combination with a frame and load-retaining car-body aload-carrying floor-door normally closing a load-discharging opening inthe body a crank-shaft mechanism adjacent to each of two op osite edgesof the door, each crank-shaft mec anism carrying a pin adapt-ed to slidebackward and 3 forward in a slot on the under side of the door ingopening in said body a crank-shaft mechanism adjacent to each of two oposite edges of the door, each crank-shaft mec anism carrying a pinadapted to slide backward and forward in a slot on the under side of thedoor, adjacent to its 0 crating mechanism the whole so arranged t atoperating either crank-shaft mechanism tilts the door about the pin ofthe opposite crank mechanism as a hinge to discharge load.

5. In a car in combination with aframe and load-retaining car-body aload-carrying floor-door normally closing a load-dischar ing opening insaid body a crank-shaft mecl i anism adjacent to each of two oppositesides of the door having a pin-and-slot connection with the side of thedoor to which it is adjacent so that operating oneof saidcrankshaft'mechanism tilts the door on thepin of the opposite mechanismas a hinge and a locking mechanism normally holding each crank-shaftmechanism in load-carrying position while the opposite mechanism isbeing operated.

6.1In a car in combitnaion {vital a frame and oad-retaining car- 0 a 0acarryin floor-door normally closing a load-discharg ing opening in thebody a crank-shaft mechanism mounted on each of two op osite edges ofthe door, each crank-shaft mec anism carrying a pin adapted to slidebackward and forward in a slot on the under side of the door, the wholeso arranged that by operating one crank-shaft mechanism the door istilted about the pin of the opposite crank mechanism as a hinge todischarge load, and a locking mechanism normally holding eachcrank-shaft mechanism in load-carrying position while the oppositemechanism is being operated. 7. In a car in combination with anunderframe consisting of a central girder and cross members, aload-carrying floor-door between a pair of cross members at one' side ofthe central girder occu ying' less space than the distance between t ecentral girder and the side of the car, a longitudinal shaft mountedupon the underframe at each side of the door one shaft near the centralgirder and one shaft near the side of the car, a crank mechanism uponeach of said shafts having a pin-and-slot connection with each of two 0osite edges of the door, means for normally ocking each shaft in normalposition and means for rotating each shaft the whole so arranged thatoperating either mechanism tilts the door about the opposite pin as ahinge.

' members, aloa -carr distance between t 8. In a car in combination withan underframe consistin of a central girder and cross g floor-doorbetween a pair of cross mem ers at one side of the central girderoccupying less space than the e central girder and the side of the car,a longitudinal shaft mounted upon the underfraine at each side of thedoor one shaft near the central girder and one shaft near the side ofthe car, a crank mechanism upon each of said shafts havinghapin-and-slot connection with the edge of t door to which it is adjacent,means for normally locking each shaft in normal position i and means forrotating each shaft the whole so arranged that operating eithermechanism tilts the door about the opposite pin as a hinge to dischargeloadat the side of the ARGYLE CAMPBELL.

Witnessesi DWIGHT B. CHEE ER, CLARA J. CHRIsToFFEL.

